Game apparatus comprising consecutively numbered coasters for beverage receptacles



Dec. 30, 1969 F. R. MANSFIELD 3,486,753"

GAME APPARATUS COMPRISING CONSECUTIVELY NUMBERED COASTERS FOR BEVERAGE RECEPTACLES Filed June 28, 1967 FIG. 4 6

INVENTOR.

F. RICHARD MANSFIELD 'BYMYQ mg United States Patent Ofice 3,486,753 Patented Dec. 30, 1969 3,486,753 GAME APPARATUS COMPRISING CONSECUTIVE- LY NUMBERED COASTERS FOR BEVERAGE RECEPTACLES Frank Richard Mansfield, New York, N.Y., assignor of one-third to Patent Service Corporation of America, New York, NY.

Filed June 28, 1967, Ser. No. 649,669 Int. Cl. A63f 3/00 US. Cl. 273-137 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A chance controlled game apparatus comprising seven disks usable as coasters for beverage receptacles, each disk having a numerical indicia printed on one side, said numerical indicia being consecutive and said disks being adapted to be arranged in a circular configuration with the indicia side face down. The game is played by turning over any one of the playing pieces and counting in either direction around the circle by the number of the indicia which is exposed. After a player can no longer proceed without landing on an exposed piece, he then totals the amount of the numbers of the unexposed pieces and records his score. The player having the lowest score wins the game.

This invention relates to a new and improved chance controlled game for one or more players.

More specifically this invention relates to a game having a plurality of playing pieces each having a numerical indicia printed on one side and said pieces being adapted to be arranged in a circle to permit play in either direction around the circle.

The game is comprised of a plurality of playing pieces each having a different numerical indicia printed on one face thereof and preferably in a consecutive numerical order. In addition, one of the playing pieces is labeled wild, permitting the player who utilizes that piece to assume any numerical value he so desires. The playing pieces are preferably constructed from disks, such as poker chips or drinking coasters, and contain a numerical indicia printed on only one side thereof. To start the game the pieces may be arranged in either a linear or closed loop configuration with all of the numerical values turned face down and out of view. The player begins the game by turning over any one of the playing pieces and making note of the numerical value which is printed on its face. The player may then proceed to count that numerical value in either direction along the row or around the loop until he lands on another playing piece which has not been overturned. After landing on the next playing piece, the player will overturn that piece and continue counting either to the right or to the left the numerical value that is printed on that playing piece. Should the player land on a wild playing piece, he may proceed to any other unturned playing piece in the group. The player continues playing until it is no longer possible, counting either to the right or to the left, to land on a p aying piece which has not been overturned. The player then totals up the playing pieces which were not overturned and records as his score the sum of the numerical digits, printed on these pieces. After each player has played the game an equal number of times, the player with the lowest numerical score Wins the game.

It is therefore an object according to the invention to provide a new and improved chance controlled game which may be played by one or more players, together or independently, utilizing a plurality of numbered playing pieces.

It is another object according to the present invention to provide a chance controlled game having a plurality of consecutively numbered disks that, when arranged along either a linear or circular path, permit the player to count in either direction along the path and overturn disks until no further disks may be overturned.

It is a further object according to the present invention to provide a chance controlled game which is simple in design, easy to manufacture and can be played by persons of all ages.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, which disclose one embodiment of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that the drawings are designed for the purposes of illustration only, and not as a definition of the limits of the invention as to which reference should be made to the appended claims.

In the drawings wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of one embodiment of the invention having eight consecutively numbered diskshaped playing pieces including a wild playing piece;

LFIG. 2 illustrates the playing pieces of FIG. 1 arranged in a closed loop and overturned, except for the first piece played;

FIG. 3 illustrates the position of the playing pieces on the second move of the game; and

FIG. 4 illustrates the position of the playing pieces on the third move of the game.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown for the purpose of illustration, eight playing pieces 10-17 which are consecutively numbered on one face only with the numbers 1-7, and including a wild playing piece representing any desired numerical value. It is obvious that the game may be played with a greater or smaller number of playing pieces than indicated in FIG. 1 and may include more than one wild playing piece. The playing pieces are preferably disk constructed from paper, plastic, metal or wood, and they may be poker chips or drinking coasters. The disks will preferably have one side either blank or including an identical commercial display. The numerical indicia will be placed on the obverse side of the disk.

To start the game, all of the playing pieces of FIG. 1 are turned over with their numerical side down, and shufiled or mixed up. Each player will then turn over one disk and the player having the lowest number, or the wild disk, will start the game.

The disks are then turned over with their numerical side down and reshuffied and arranged in either an open or closed loop pattern. Referring to FIG. 2, the disks are shown arranged in a typical closed loop pattern with all but one of the pieces turned with their numerical side down. The first player may start anywhere within the closed loop, and, for example, turn over playing piece 15 having a numerical indication 5. The first player may then proceed counting five pieces in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction in order to turn over the next playing piece. As shown in FIG. 3, the first player has moved five places in a clockwise direction along path 18 and has overturned playing piece 13 having the value 3. The player may then count 3 spaces, either clockwise or counterclockwise to reach the next playing piece. In FIG. 4, the player has chosen to count 3 places along path 19 in a counterclockwise direction and has overturned wild piece 10. The game will continue by the player counting in either direction any number of places to reach the next playing piece. When the player can no longer move either clockwise or counterclockwise without landing on a playing piece which has already been overturned, the game is then concluded and the player counts his score from the values of the playing pieces which have not been overturned. After each player has had a turn playing the game, the player with the lowest score Wins the game.

The game finds particular application when the playing pieces are made from drinking coasters so that any social gathering with a group of two or more persons may put its coasters in a circle and play off to determine who will buy the next round of drinks. After the player has acquired some experience by playing a number of games, he will find that there is a certain skill involved in going out with the lowest score. The players will find that it is possible to determine the probability of the numerical values of the remaining unturned playing pieces and calculate the best direction to move around the circle so that the greatest number of playing pieces, particularly those with the highest values, will be overturned before the game is concluded.

While the game has been found to Work Well with eight playing pieces, including one wild piece, it is obvious that any number of playing pieces and wild pieces may be utilized. It is also anticipated that colors having specific numerical value may be substituted for the numbers printed on one face of the coasters for determining the value of each of the playing pieces.

While only a single embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that many changes and modifications may be made therein.

What is claimed is:

1. A game apparatus comprising:

a plurality of flat game pieces formed and dimensioned to serve as coasters for beverage receptacles and each having a numerical indicia disposed on only one side thereof, said numerical indicia being in consecutive order, and

at least one additional such game piece having a nonnumerical indicia disposed on only one side thereof.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said additional coaster indicia comprises the word wild.

3. The game apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said plurality comprises at least seven coasters.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,061,999 5/1913 Grondahl 273-135 1,871,247 8/1932 Trost 273135 2,542,870 2/1951 Hyland 273130 2,743,108 4/1956 Sanders 273-135 3,077,677 2/1963 Malkin et al.

3,040,472 6/ 1962 Miller.

3,420,525 1/1969 Waders 273-l35 FOREIGN PATENTS 441,900 3/ 1927 Germany.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner 

